The Nation Newspaper

Tag: IPOB

  • IPOB: Boo!

    The Anambra State governorship election of November 18 has been lost and won, despite the loud threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to cause chaos. Ahead of the election, the now-proscribed separatist group had terrorised residents of the state, threatening to make the election impossible.

    The anti-election drama began in June with this ultimatum issued by IPOB leader Nnamdi  Kanu: “If the Federal Government does not agree with us on a date for referendum, there will be no elections in the Southeast; we are starting with Anambra come November this year. There will be no governorship election in Anambra State.” He took the issue further: “In 2019, the whole of Biafra land will not vote for any president. There will be no senator, there will be no House of Reps, there will be no House of Assembly and there will be no councilorship elections in Biafra land if the Federal Government fails to call for a referendum.”

    Kanu re-emphasised this position before he disappeared while on bail.  He was characteristically rebellious when he addressed a crowd on August 27 at the Boys Technical College (BTC) on Faulks Road in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State. According to a report, “He used the forum to reiterate that there would not be election in Anambra in November or any part of “Biafra Land” even in 2019, unless the group’s clamour for referendum got the blessings of government.”

    Even without Kanu, days to the governorship election in Anambra State on November 18, IPOB was still flexing its muscles. Members of the group marched around with a death threat in Onitsha, Anambra State, on November 3. They were quoted as saying: “If you vote you will die. Don’t go out, stay in your house. If you vote on November 18, you will die…There will be no election. We will not participate, we will not vote.”

    This muscle-flexing failed; the election was held. The group is silent; it has been silenced by the election. What will IPOB say now about its threat to foil the election, and why it couldn’t carry out the threat?  Evidently, the group can bark but can’t bite. It is toothless.

    Beyond the Anambra election, the group’s threat to ruin the electoral process in the Southeast even in the 2019 general election now sounds more delusional than ever.  IPOB’s failure to stop the election this time should warn its members that they shouldn’t expect any success in the future.

  • IPOB sit-at-home order: Markets shutdown in Aba

    Traders of major markets in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State, on Saturday heeded to the call by the leadership of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which asked residents of the Southeast to sit-at-home in protest of the Anambra governorship election.

    Masked men suspected to be IPOB members had on Thursday stormed various markets in Aba including warning traders through a leaflet which they circulated of the dangers awaiting them if they open for business yesterday.

    According IPOB the essence of the sit-at-home order was to further pressurize the federal government to heed to their demand for a referendum which their leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu was championing until September 14 when personnel of the Nigerian Army struck the palace of Kanu’s father.

    The commissioner of police had assured business owners, visitors and residents of their safety with the assurance from leadership of various markets agreeing to open their gates for traders and shoppers to carry out their businesses without any harassment or fear of being intimidated by any group of persons.

    But our reporter who went round the commercial city to monitor compliance of the traders to the orders of IPOB and security agencies reports that Ariaria, Ahia Ohuru, Shopping Center, Cemetery and major markets witnessed low turnout of traders.

    Our reporter also reported that shops along Azikiwe road, Faulks, Kent, Jubilee, Hospital, Market, Ehi road, Nsulu and other major business centres located within the city centre were shutdown.

    Some of the few respondents, including Mr. Offor Clement who spoke to our reporter at different locations of the city, said that they decided to observe the sit-at-home order to avoid being caught in the web of any crisis between the police and members of the IPOB who had vowed to ensure that no trader opened for business.

    They lamented the billions of naira they might have lost as a result of the sit-at-home order. This is even as people who opened for shop stated that they have not being intimidated or harassed by anybody.

    A member of the secessionist group who gave his name as Ikedichi said the outcome of the sit-at-home order was a litmus test of what they are going to do in 2019, because according to him, there will be total boycott of the election in the remaining southeast states in 2019.

    A source at the Aba Area Command of Nigeria Police told our correspondent that they have deployed their men especially in muftis at strategic locations and flash-points to avoid any breakdown of law and order in the commercial town.

     

  • Why we proscribed IPOB, by AGF

    Why we proscribed IPOB, by AGF

    •Minister to court: reject request to vacate order
    •Court fixes ruling for January 17

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) has explained why the Federal Government proscribed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    Malami said had the Fed Govt not acted on time, there could have been a replication of the Rwandan genocide in Nigeria.

    He said some developments preceding the proscription order were worrisome, particularly the interception of 2,571 rifles illegally imported from Turkey, IPOB’s establishment of security outfits and the threat by its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to cause mayhem.

    The AGF said these in a counter-affidavit he filed in response to an application by IPOB, challenging the proscription order.

    He said contrary to IPOB’s claim that it was a non-violent group, its activities has led to the death of many in the Southeast region and was threatening the nation’s continued existence.

    The AGF said: “In view of the worrisome smuggling of rifles from Turkey, the respondent/applicant’s (IPOB)’s secessionist agenda and links with Turkey, coupled with violent acts and speeches of Nnamdi Kanu and other IPOB actors, the Federal Government of Nigeria had to act proactively by prescribing the respondent/applicant so as to curtail its violent activities before it snowball into an unmanageable one.

    “Part of the factors that fuelled the crisis that culminated in the Rwandan genocide was the labelling of the Tutsis as cockroaches, who should be exterminated.

    “Leon Mugesera asked Hutus to cut the neck of Tutsis and fled to Canada after the genocide. In April 2016, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for public incitement to commit genocide, persecution as crime against humanity and inciting ethnic-affiliated hatred.

    “Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB is toeing the same path through Biafra Radio and by labelling Nigeria a zoo, which should be razed down, calling President Muhammadu Buhari unprintable names.

    “He (Kanu) also claimed that the Nigerian government hired a Sudanese man to come and impersonate President Buhari.

    “He was also quoted to have made the following incendiary statements: ‘No Igbo man should attend any church where the pastor is a Yoruba man, they are fools; any Igbo person, who attends any church pastored by a Yoruba man is an imbecile.

    ‘Pastor Kumuyi should be stoned and dealt with thoroughly if he comes to Aba for his planned crusade; Nigeria is a zoo and everybody living in that God forsaken zoo deserves to die; Nigeria should prepare for war, we are coming to annihilate you, my secret service are already studying the zoo and strategising.’

    The AGF, in the counter affidavit, faulted clam by IPOB that Kanu has been abducted by the Nigerian military.

    He said: “Nnamdi Kanu is not missing, rather he has deliberately gone into hiding ostensibly to avoid his adjourned trial and also to avoid the likely legal consequences of his activities and those of his group.”

    The AGF noted that Kanu’s brother, Emmanuel, had claimed that the IPOB leader was not at home when soldiers allegedly invaded his brother’s home. He added that Kanu also told a television station that during the alleged invasion on September 15 this year, his father was almost shot.

    Arguing the counter-affidavit yesterday, the Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF), Dayo Akpata, urged the court to refuse the application by IPOB.

    He among others said: “It is in the interest of justice, public peace, constitution order, territorial integrity of Nigeria and national security to refuse the respondent/applicant’s application.”

    In an earlier argument, lawyer to IPOB, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, urged the court to among other set aside the proscription order.

    He argued that not only was the court misled into making the order, the Federal Government acted fraudulently in procuring the order by hiding necessary facts from the court.

    Ejiofor claimed that IPOB was a non-violent group, whose members were only interested in securing freedom for the Igbo people.

    Justice Adamu Kafarati has adjourned to January 17 next year for ruling.

  • Army arrests IPOB members with anti Anambra election flyers

    Army arrests IPOB members with anti Anambra election flyers

    Army personnel attached to 144 Battalion under 14 Brigade, Ohafia, Abia State have reportedly arrested three members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ) in Aba, the commercial nerve of the State.

     The suspects whose names were Mr. Nwagbougwu Okeke, aged 55yrs, Mr. Chidiebere Nwaoha, aged 35yrs and Mr. John Nwaogazi, aged 50yrs were said to have been arrested by the soldiers on patrol in Aba on Sunday.

     Sources within the battalion told our reporter that the IPOB members were arrested Sunday morning around Alaoji Fly Over.

     The suspects according to a source said that they were caught distributing flyers and posters with caption “No Election In Anambra State”.

     The source said that the suspects and flyers have been handed over to the Department of State Security for continued investigation.

     A senior officer at the battalion who craved anonymity said that the 14 Brigade would continue to work in synergy with the police and other sister agencies to flush out criminality and anti social activities within the State.

     The officer urged members of the public to inform the army and other security agencies of the activities of criminals and hoodlums in their locality, stressing that they would make criminality unprofitable in the state.

  • Army arrests IPOB members with anti Anambra election flyers

    Army arrests IPOB members with anti Anambra election flyers

    Army personnel attached to 144 Battalion under 14 Brigade, Ohafia, Abia State have reportedly arrested three members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Aba, the commercial nerve of the State.

    The suspects whose names were Mr. Nwagbougwu Okeke, aged 55yrs, Mr. Chidiebere Nwaoha, aged 35yrs and Mr. John Nwaogazi, aged 50yrs were said to have been arrested by the soldiers on patrol in Aba on Sunday.

    Sources within the battalion told our reporter that the IPOB members were arrested Sunday morning around Alaoji Fly Over.

    The suspects according to a source said that they were caught distributing flyers and posters with a caption “No Election In Anambra State”.

    The source said that the suspects and flyers have been handed over to the Department of State Security for continued investigation.

    A senior officer at the battalion who craved anonymity said that the 14 Brigade would continue to work in synergy with the police and other sister agencies to flush out criminality and anti-social activities within the State.

    The officer urged members of the public to inform the army and other security agencies of the activities of criminals and hoodlums in their locality, stressing that they would make criminality unprofitable in the state.

  • Buhari’s visit: Police warn IPOB, parties’ supporters against disruptive acts

    Buhari’s visit: Police warn IPOB, parties’ supporters against disruptive acts

    The Ebonyi Police Command on Monday warned the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and political parties’ supporters against disruptive acts during President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the state on Tuesday.

    Ebonyi Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Titus Lamorde, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki.

    He gave the assurance that the command was well equipped to deal with all forms of security challenges before, during and after the President’s visit.

    According to Lamorde, any individual or group of persons that foment trouble before, during and after the visit would be severely dealt with, as people are advised to conduct themselves well.

    “I will not disclose the number of personnel we have drafted for security reasons, but I assure citizens that enough personnel have been deployed across the state to ensure a hitch-free visit.

    “The President’s visit is a welcome development as the citizens should cooperate with security agencies to make it a successful one,” he said.

    He stated that his officers had been adequately trained to relate well with the citizens during the visit and advised people to conduct their activities within the confines of the law.

    “We would not meddle into political issues as security outfit, but the visit is developmentally-oriented because of the numerous projects the President would inaugurate.

    “My officers would not intimidate or harass individuals or groups as the duty of ensuring a hitch-free event is a collective one,” he said.

    NAN reports that some proscribed IPOB members have been making uncomplimentary remarks while the rivalry between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC)
    members, had heightened prior to the visit.

  • IPOB declares 21-day mourning for slain members

    IPOB declares 21-day mourning for slain members

    Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ) says it has declared 21-day mourning for its members killed during the military invasion of the home of her leader, Nnamdi Kanu at Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.

    The separatist group also claimed that it has discovered more corpses of her slain members in a bush at Umuahia, the State Capital, near the home of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    According to the group it is burying her over 28 members killed during the Military invasion with 11 of such bodies already interred.

    A senior member of the group, Mark Eze Ofuonye while disclosing how some of their members were shot dead by the invading soldiers, and some of the corpses recently found in a bush near the home of the IPOB leader said, “Some of our member numbering over 28 were murdered in cold blood by the military during the invasion of our leader’s home at Afara Ukwu.”

    “The soldiers were doing a sorts of mob up, when they killed, they carried away to conceal their horrendous act but it was not possible.

    “So, they filed up their trucks with our members corpses. The corpses we retrieved which are the ones we are burying presently are those the soldiers could not carry. It was kind of a sting operation; they just came out with the intention of killing everything that lives there (Nnamdi Kanu’s home). The people they met were not armed still they opened fire that even people standing by and those passing through the area were caught in the cross fire.”

    Ofuonye said the corpses they have been  burying in recent times were those they reportedly retrieved from inside the bush which they alleged soldiers could not see to carry away after killing them.

    According to him, “The corpses we are burying now were found inside the bush, they were shot by soldiers and they ran into the bush with bullet wounds thinking that they could receive help there but no help came their way and they died inside the bush. Some of the dead bodies were discovered last week inside the bush at the back of Nnamdi Kanu’s house. The 28 were those ones that were killed within the axis of the house of our leader. But the total number killed within this range is 305 persons.”

    The IPOB chieftain who said there was no need for the operation by the Nigerian army as members of the group do not carry arms neither were they violent, added that the leadership of the pro Biafra group declared the 21 day mourning for their killed members

    Disclosing that those killed were from the Eastern heartland, Ofuonye said what the group was busy doing now is burying the dead, treating the injured and taking care of the imprisoned ones.

    “We lost very vibrant and lovely youths who were just peacefully asking for what is their right, but the Nigerian government chose to use brute force on them. Some of our members who were forced to drink poisoned water, some of them are defecating blood today and we are also treating them. About 76 of our members are dumped in Aba prisons under the most inhuman condition and many of them are ill.

    “A lot of things are being done against our members, but the most beautiful thing about all these things is that were are getting strength from them; the spirit has risen, the enthusiasm has come because when you look back and see you’ve lost a lovely one, a colleague, going back becomes a very big problem you can’t go so that it will not look as a betrayal. As I speak, we are establishing more zones and new members are coming in, we are winning the war of battle of hearts and minds,”he assured.

    He said the 21 days of mourning which began on October 26 would be used to bury all their members who were killed during the invasion and that they are doing that in piecemeal.

    He added that within this period, they’ve been able to bury 11 of their members at their various homes within the Aba region and that they will continue until all of them were buried.

    “Because in any struggle, people die, but the only painful aspect of it is probably we lost young boys, youths who had bright future. In the civilized world, you don’t touch people like that, no matter what they did, at worse you take them to court; but we have drawn strength from their death and we are not going back.”

    He advised the United Nations to send its representatives to the home of their leader at Afara Ukwu to be able to see how soldiers invaded the house of a core civilian with heavy armoury and none of the soldiers sustained any scratch which he said was an indication despite the propaganda mounted by the Nigerian army, the IPOB members were not armed.

  • Abia generates N1.4bn from Made-in-Nigeria products

    Abia generates N1.4bn from Made-in-Nigeria products

    Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State yesterday said that the state had generated N1.4 billion from the sale of Made-in-Nigeria goods since the campaign began.

    The governor disclosed this while addressing state House Correspondents in Abuja after conferring with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the proposed committee on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Council.

    “Part of the direct fall out of our campaign since the past 24 months is that today some parts of Ariaria market, where the shoemaking enterprise is flourishing, has enjoyed steady power for three weeks now.

    “It is in the pilot scheme, courtesy of the agency in charge of the rural power supply.

    “Beyond that, we are interfacing and having a better relationship with funding agencies now.

    “And we were able to attract about N1.3billion or N1.4 billion on direct sales from the Made-in-Aba shoes, made in Abia dresses and all that,” he said.

    The governor stated that besides the investments the Made-in-Aba fashion show was held in Abuja and another one was held in New York where they (manufacturers) came face to face with world class designers “and we did not do badly at all.

    “The Made-in-Nigeria campaign has assumed international dimension now,” he added.

    He said the visit to the Vice President was because “we are trying to set up a committee for the MSME Council and I am a critical stakeholder in that because Abia state is the SME hub of Nigeria today.

    “We are actually interested in what happens; the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products in Abia is going up,” Ikpeazu explained.

    On what the state had done to encourage local industries, the governor stated that having direct sales of N1.4 billion was not a joke and ensuring that there was a constant and uninterrupted power supply for three weeks was not also a mean feat.

    According to the governor, exposing them to fairs as far as to New York is not something you sweep under the carpet.

    “Confidence is returned; everybody now places“ Proudly Aba, Proudly Nigeria,” on his ware.

    “If our youths are happy doing what they are doing then we have started something.

    Ikpeazu stated that his administration had been working on infrastructure steadily including roads, electricity, security as all of them were part of enablers that would drive the vision.

    According to him, this government has completed about 45 roads and about 25 of those roads are in Aba.

    “We are doing the first flyover in the entire Abia state in Aba and the cement roads we are doing; our roads have survived three rainy seasons now and they are standing.”

    On Nnamdi Kanu’s whereabouts, the governor described him as his brother but noted that Kanu was not in the custody of Abia government.

    “Those who are looking for him may have a better knowledge and have the capacity to determine the location of anyone in Nigeria.

    “There are people who are trained to track people and it is their responsibility not mine,” the governor stated.

    Kanu was the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

  • It’s not my duty to produce IPOB leader – Ikpeazu

    It’s not my duty to produce IPOB leader – Ikpeazu

    Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, on Thursday said that it was not his responsibility to produce the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
    He spoke with State House journalists after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    According to him, it was the duty of those that were trained to track people that should give information about the whereabouts of the IPOB leader.
    Stressing that Kanu was his brother, he insisted that the state government does not know his whereabouts.
    He said: “Those who are looking for him may have a better knowledge and have the capacity to determine the location of anyone in Nigeria.
    “There are people who are trained to track people and it is their responsibility, not mine.”
    According to him, the state was trying to set up a committee for the MSME Council and that he was a critical stakeholder in that because Abia state was the SME hub of Nigeria today.
    He said: “The patronage of Made in Nigeria products in Abia is going up.
    Part of the direct fall out of our campaign since the past 24 months is that today some parts of Ariaria market where the shoemaking enterprise is flourishing has enjoyed steady power for three weeks now on a pilot scheme courtesy of the agency in charge of the rural power supply.
    “Beyond that, we are interfacing and having the better relationship with funding agencies now and we were able to attract about N1.3bn or N1.4 billion on direct sales from the made in Aba shoes, made in Abia dresses and all that.
    “And apart from that, the Made in Aba fashion show was held in Abuja and another one was held in New York where they came face to face with world class designers and we did not do badly at all.
    “The made in Nigeria campaign has assumed international dimension.
    On efforts to encourage the local industries, the governor said that having direct sales of N1.4 billion was not a joke and ensuring that there was constant power supply uninterrupted for three weeks which he said was not a mean feat.
    He said exposing them to fairs as far as to New York was not something you sweep under the carpet.
    He said: “Confidence is returned; everybody now places proudly Aba, Proudly Nigeria in his ware. If our youths are happy doing what they are doing then we have started something.
    “We have been working on infrastructure steadily, roads, electricity, security as all of them are part of enablers that will drive our vision going forward.
    “This government has completed about 45 roads and about 25 of those roads are in Aba. We are doing the first flyover in the entire Abia state in Aba and the cement roads we are doing our roads have survived three rainy seasons now and they are standing,” he stated.
  • Abia: Comptroller speaks on fate of kids born in Prison

    Abia: Comptroller speaks on fate of kids born in Prison

    The Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) zone E, Alloy Uchenwa has spoken on the fate of children who were born while their mothers serve prison terms.

    Speaking at the Abia State headquarters Umuahia, after a meeting with the officers of the command, Uchenwa noted that the law is silent on the issue of babies born in the prisons who automatically become members of the community even without committing any crime.

    The prison boss further added that the law is, though, silent on the fate of such babies, but they were normally released to their parents or relatives after 18 months.

    He said: “But the first few months of birth, the baby would need the attention of the mother.”

    Speaking on the issue of accommodation and logistics challenges being faced by the prisons has been compounded by the 100 Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members in its zone E custody.

    Speaking with newsmen at the Abia State headquarters Umuahia, after a meeting with the officers of the command, the Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) zone E, Mr Alloy Uchenwa, said, it was a miracle yesterday how the command was able to convey 100 IPOB members to court.

    Uchenwa, who was in Abia State as part of his routine inspection of facilities in commands under his zone, identified logistics as one of the major challenges of the prisons.

    He, therefore, called on individuals, organisations and governments to assist the zone by providing logistics to enable it to convey inmates to court at the appropriate time.

    The ACG equally identified overcrowding/prison congestion as another challenge confronting the prisons, “A situation where more than 90% of inmates are awaiting trial was worrisome.”

    The Zone E prison boss, called for the building of more prison cells to ease the challenge of overcrowding, saying that a situation where cells for 500 inmates were occupied by 1000 prisoners was not the best.

    According to him, the society would enjoy peace only when there is peace in the prisons saying that the zone’s commitment to excellence would not be compromised.

    He disclosed that in his meeting with the Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Ume Kalu (SAN) he raised the issue of prison decongestion with a promise from him to expedite the trial of cases.

    Uchenwa commended Abia prison command for the improvements recorded since his last visit.

    He said that of particular interest was the reform which has helped the inmates to enrol in classes which have helped most of them to write WASCE even as others were taking courses in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

    He commended the prison personnel while describing them as disciplined officers and men and assured that their promotion would remain regular even as the 2017 promotion would soon be released.

    On the issue of lack of adequate medication and food for inmates, he said the inmates would not be satisfied with the service because all the inmates need is freedom.